North Hills is hoping to channel its inner-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers when the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs start.
Following a 7-14 regular season and 4-6 mark in Section 1-6A, the Indians received the final seed in Class 6A playoffs, which were set to start Feb. 16.
“That old Steelers team in 2005, they got the lowest seed and won the Super Bowl,” said Jason Pirring, who is in his second year leading the Indians. “All you have to do is get a ticket in. The competition this year is extremely challenging, but I think our girls are excited.”
After a shaky 1-4 start with a very young team, North Hills was able to pick up a few more wins when the calendar turned, knocking off perennially strong programs like North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon, who the Indians were set to face in their playoff opener.
“With us starting just one senior, it was really important for me to just get them into the playoffs,” said Pirring. “That was my biggest goal.
“When I look back at the regular season, there were some things I wish we had more time to work on and fix, but we never had a real chance to fix some of the problems that we had throughout the season.”
North Hills lost six of its final seven games, coinciding with a season-ending injury to starting senior guard Sophia Regan in a game against Pine-Richland on Jan. 29.
“That was hard,” Pirring admitted. “She was our captain. When you lose someone like that and you’re so used to playing with her this late in the season, you have to figure it out. It’s the next person up, of course, but now you’re trying to use a plan with another person.”
On a positive note, the team saw a further step in the play of sophomore guard Zoe Devlin, who scored over 15 points per game.
“She’s a true competitor,” Pirring said. “She wears her heart on her sleeve and she goes hard. Every time she’s out there, she’s getting much, much better on defense. Offensively, she’s learning how to create her own shot. A lot of teams are pressuring her, face-guarding here and trying to take her out of everything she’s trying to do.
“Her emotions are different this year. She’s up to the challenge better this year than she was last year.”
Pirring has also been impressed with Delaney Amato, a 5-foot-10 junior guard who also is one of the top soccer goalkeepers in the region.
“She’s just that kind of athlete,” said Pirring. “Having her on the floor has changed a lot of things. With her height, she’s had to play differently this year than she did last. We need her more inside. She’s guarded bigs, and she hasn’t traditionally been used to doing that.”
Pirring’s daughter, Lucy, has come on strong defensively during her sophomore season. Keally Zickefoose is a promising freshman who is getting more and more minutes. And Emma Culver has stepped into a starting role since Regan’s injury.
Two years ago, North Hills won a section title for the first time since 1980, doing so in Class 5A. While they have not been as successful overall since moving to the top classification, the Indians are postseason-bound for a second straight year.
They’ll take on a Mt. Lebanon team that North Hills defeated 42-33 in nonsection play Jan. 19 at home. Despite having worse overall and section records and a loss to North Hills on its resume, the Blue Devils received the higher seed and home game from the WPIAL steering committee.
“I’m going to try to use that to our advantage,” said Pirring. “We’re up for the challenge to go play Mt. Lebanon. … It’s a good feeling, being in the playoffs.”